Participation in Developmental Courses: Washington

Percentage of Washington Community College students enrolled in developmental English/reading and mathematics courses during their first academic year, by race/ethnicity, age, and Pell grant status: 2006

What Is Measured?

Percentage of Washington Community College students enrolled in developmental English/reading and mathematics courses during their first year

Who Is Counted?

Students entering Washington Community Colleges for the first time in fall 2006

What It Tells Us

Some 19 percent of first-time Pell grant students in Washington Community Colleges enrolled in developmental English/reading and mathematics courses during their first academic year.

Why It's Important

For students in need of developmental education, enrolling in a specific course mandated by the placement test is the first step toward advancement to a college-level program. Many students never enroll in developmental courses at the level at which they are assessed, however. Because placements are not always binding, many students enroll in higher- or lower-level courses. Some may skip courses in the remedial sequence or skip developmental education altogether. As a result, the rates at which students enroll in developmental courses provide an incomplete picture of the need for remediation. Placement information, however, is rarely available, leaving enrollment rates as the only measure for gauging students' college readiness.

About the Data

First-time students: include students with no prior postsecondary experience except for college credits earned during high school or in the summer before enrolling in the fall.

Pell Grant recipient: a student who received a Pell Grant within the first year of entry at a given institution of higher education.

Race/ethnicity: Other includes Asian; American Indian or Alaska Native; and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Racial categories exclude persons of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity, who are presented separately.